I like the metal enamalware cup he's using, most guys would have to have one of those $80 titanium ones!

Ya, I saw that weight difference to after reading some reviews & that would have me a little nervous but I may give it a try anyways as the older I get the more I'm about comfort!

All I know about it is I put up a guy from Boston in July who made it from Boston to SF in 32 days, 3390 miles, the day he stopped here he had rode 128 miles, day before that 150, he camped nearly every night, had only 2 small rear panniers & a small bag on the top of the rack, I think from Boston to here in western Nebraska he only took 2 rest days, check him out on Facebook, "riding on the edge" is the page, pretty amazing!

I know how you feel, 6' 5" here(although my wife is only 4' 11") I'm getting ready to order a Mountainsmith Morrison, 92" long, that's 7' 8" long! It may be a little heavier than some at 4 ibs. 3 oz. but I'm not ultra-racing & have a small 1 man tent for solo trips, it was rated killer deal by Backpacker & Outside mags, says it packs down to 18"x7.5", beauty part about my wife being shorter, more room for gear or dog at her foot end!

Great pics of a great looking trip, what kind of bike/gear you using?

I just saw an interesting article about Minnesotan Ben Oney completing it this year in like 20 days, said he averaged $80/day on food alone, like 300 calories/hr while riding, there's a start maybe but I'm sure those who've done it will have a better idea, this was just something interesting I remember reading.

Tim, I do agree with you 100 o/o on the big "S" thing & what they did, I do unfortunately have 2 of those "S" bikes hanging in my garage that belong to my senior in high school twins, they were the bikes that got them into biking seriously, my son has moved on to a Giant cross bike & a Surly KM SS, it was total crap what they did to Eric & for that reason alone I'll never own one of their bikes myself, regardless of how cool it is!

yes "29" is a reference to the wheel size. as far as a bike, possibly start out with a steel or aluminum frame, hardtail (meaning no rear suspension) front suspension or not, depending on the type of riding you plan on doing, maybe look for brands such as Specialized, Giant, Cannondale, Trek/Gary Fisher, Fuji, I think all of these make 29'er's now & you can maybe find a used one reasonably priced but the main thing you want is a decent fit which you may have better luck getting from a local bike shop & just buying an introductory type mt bike to start out with, I listed the brands above just off the top of my head, not cause I'm partial to them at all, just cause they're ones to look for, I own Surly & Salsa myself.

 if you have all the lightweight gear then your set there except for a carrying system, for that look at bags from Jandd if your on a budget or Revelate Designs if you want the best, again, just my opinion, there are others out there that will work, most importantly, check out personal set-ups here & stick around, you'll learn plenty in a short time, welcome aboard.

the baby wipes are essential, even for overnighters. Have you considered one of those small pack towels for drying off & soaking up laundry? Might work, also wool baselayers can go for days without getting funky, I use Smartwool but there's other brands, change into a pair of wool undies & shirt at night while your shorts are drying the best they can, I've even used a merino wool bike jersey in the heat of summer & they are great.

 I have an XL Salsa Fargo frame/fork for sale, was built up less than a year & is like new, fun guy green color, $450 shipped to the lower 48, I might consider trading for a Surly Pugsley or Salsa Mukluk frame/fork in a 22"

that's good to know I was thinking of getting the wife one of those set-ups for her '03 Cannondale Jekkyl, just wasn't sure how well they worked. I've got an '11 Fargo, water bottle mounts are no longer an issue for me!

if you're going to use the middle chain ring up front perhaps you can mount another cog in the rear & have a dinglrspeed!

So inspiring to try something out of the limits! Thanks for sharing, can't wait to hear/see more!

I'd be more concerned about tweaking a rim with the extra weight of those things! I ride in some goathead areas & use Tuffy liners, Slime tubes, still get flats but usually get them to seal, if not I carry 1-2 extra tubes, patch kit & Topeak Mt Morph pump as my insurance.

that was another concern, I'm 6' 5" & wondered if the harness system was long enough to keep the weight low, sounds like it is. I havn't used a pack for a couple years but am looking for something smaller than what I have for some overnighters, used my old Camelback Lobo the other day for 50 miles & instantly noticed the weight in the upper back/shoulders so was interested in getting the weight lower, I'm prone to maybe go with the 3.0, thanks for the info thus far!

anyone using the Hyper 2.5 or 3.0 to give a decent, honest review? Looking at getting a new pack but rather un-decided at this point, the Osprey's appeal to me quite a bit to, trying to narrow it down.

this set-up looks like a great compilation from years of adventure cycling, best of luck this year, you deserve to finally bag this beast!

 Are they using the call-ins this year? If so where are they, not finding them on the site yet

 I finally took my '11 Fargo in last Fri for shifting issues after 500+ miles on it & my bike mechanic got it dialed in quite well, it was the front shifting that was giving me the issues, not sure what he did but it performed last Sun riding sigletrack in the canyons FLAWLESSLY!

 I've got pics on my blog if anyone is interested in seeing my new Fargo, I turned it over to 500 miles tonight in 57 rides, front shifting is getting worse so will hit local shop Fri to get a quick tune-up, been riding a singlespeed for way to long so this shifting is still being learned by me!

 www.paxtonpeleton.blogspot.com